Reproduced from source cited below
I was pleasantly surprised to discover excellent examples of the latest West End Watches prominently displayed at a mall in Doha, Qatar, where I live, and very pleased to discover that the company has been in the uninterrupted business of watch and clock manufacture for the past 125 years. I contacted the company to research their history, and got a very positive response. They are very proud of their Indian links, and also of their rich and often colourful history.
What follows is a brief history, extracted from the material that was provided by the West End Watch Co., and reproduced with their permission.
It all started when The West End, a trendy district of London, inspired its name to Mr Arnold Charpie, who was the Bombay representative of the firm Alcide Droz and Sons, a watch company established at Saint-Imier in Switzerland. Mr Charpie suggested that dials labelled "West End Watch Company" were sent to him. They proved to be a great success, and in 1886, Mr Amstutz and Mr Droz bought Mr Charpie's license for exploitation of the trademark. The West End brand was born.
Until the middle of the last century, West End Watches were called Sowar, Queen Anne, Keepsake, Standard, Extra, Sillidar.
The most popular model was Sowar, which is still manufactured today. In Hindi, "Sowar" means "warrior". However, it is not this reason alone that accounts for the image of the fearlessness and courage of the brand; it is said that Sir Thomas Edward Lawrence and his soldiers wore West End Watches. Thanks to his troops and to the Indian armies, the reputation of the brand spread from Tibet to Aden.
Vintage promotional poster of the West End Watch Co., featuring an Indian Railways steam locomotive and rolling stock.
The West End Watch Company also owes its keen reputation to the sometimes hazardous itineraries necessary to be followed to deliver the watches from Switzerland to the Indies, then to Middle East, China, and Southeast Asia. At the dawn of the 20th century, the long journey from Switzerland to Bombay was full of adventure. It involved taking the consignments by train to Marseilles, then by ship across the Mediterranean Sea, the Suez Canal, the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea. Once checked, the watches were dispatched from Bombay throughout the Asian continent.
Delivering West End Watches has never been just a routine! During the Second World War, to avoid the Suez Canal and escape enemy submarines, some consignments were sent via Argentina and took one year to arrive! The anecdotes that relate the adventures of the travelers and the watches during that time are numerous; consignments torpedoed, or returned to Switzerland undamaged after coming up against closed borders. Once again, the reputation of the brand was carried wide and far by the English soldiers throughout Asia, from Burma to Japan passing through China.
Even today, West End Watches stand for adventure. For instance, when the lowest roads of the Himalayas are unsuitable for motor vehicles because of snow, deliveries don't stop, and are carried along on the back of yaks! For more than a century, the passion that drives all those associated with the design, manufacture and commercialization of West End Watches has in no way faltered. The passion also inspires, without any doubt, all those who like wearing watches so rich in history.
A West End vintage watch for railway and telegraph office use. Note the letters around the dial with 'Z' for midnight, 'A' for 1am, etc. - this alphabetic code is still used today for designating goods trains based on their time of departure.
Source: Author: Shantanu Sen, 2011, available at https://www.irfca.org/articles/west-end-watch-co.html
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